It's the Final Three

All passengers from Georgia, Maryland or New Jersey please report to your appointed decks and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

This week we travelled to Georgia.

We stopped in Maryland and Heather did the research on the Monopoly Railroads. The lucky person behind me will be the recipient of a Starbucks $5 gift card this weekend.

And Maureen takes her kids to the Six Flags in New Jersey. And I don't know why New Jersey owns the Ellis Island but they do.

It's been a fun week and a great month for me learning some very interesting facts and re-learning so much that I had forgotten. Today is for Georgia, Maryland and New Jersey but tomorrow is

Free for All Friday!

So everyone chime in

and tell us what makes your state

The Taste of USA!

Vote Here! Vote Often!

All passengers from Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin please report to your assigned decks immediately to tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Seriously, if some of you folks from the New England Coast could vote, that would be great! I've been looking at pictures of lobsters all week and I've got a small craving now!

Our loyal reader, Maureen, has visited Maine where she witnessed her first and last, real, live, huge moose and we're asking the Universe to give Maureen a chance to take her kids to Maine. Thank you, Universe.

Another loyal reader, Heather (can we do lunch in August?), has a fond place in her heart for Wisconsin where she went on tour. Heather, what kind of tour was this? Are we talking marching? And, what is "non-date"? Inquiring minds want to know!

You know what else inquiring minds want to know? They want to know what makes your state the Taste of USA! Don't forget, if your state has passed, don't worry. We have a make up day coming up soon! Check in everyday so you are sure not to miss it.

Next week is our final week of this little cruise. On Monday, we will go to Georgia. Tuesday, we're in Maryland. And Wednesday, we're in New Jersey. Thursday will be contest day for those three states. Be sure to check in daily so you don't miss the make up day!

Have a great weekend!

Today is contest day!

This week visited Delaware, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wyoming, West Virginia and Louisiana.

Tera stopped by on Tuesday to give us some inside information on the Erie area. Be sure to check that out. Tera and Treye are making their way to matrimonial bliss tomorrow and I know we all wish them well.

But, before everyone takes off for the wedding, all passengers from the above mentioned states should report to their appropriate decks and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Up next week is Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

Week 7 Contest day on Thursday

On Monday we went to Kentucky where Katie K. grew up. We're thinking that parts of northern Kentucky should just be annexed into Ohio since Ohio is claiming them as their own anyway.

On Tuesday we stopped in Washington, Oregon and Nebraska. Cassie P. lived in Oregon for a while and though she has a soft spot for Oregon, she wouldn't want to move back there.

On Wednesday we went to Connecticut and I have added Mystic, Connecticut to my vision board list as a place I would like to visit.

Today is Thursday, July 3rd and it's contest day! All residents from the above mentioned states report to your appointed decks and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

I am taking July 4th off. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday. I will see you on Monday when we visit Delaware. Tuesday we will be in Pennsylvania. Wednesday will be hitting Nevada. And, Thursday we have Louisiana, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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Did you hear the echo in here?

It's been a quiet week at Taste of USA and my friend, Angie, is leaving for vacation tomorrow so I know she won't be logging in. Or, if she does, I'll be surprised. So, it's just our very own Katie moving to Virginia- the state for lovers!

Out of this weeks states, I have been skiing in Colorado, to a ranch barbecue in Oklahoma and to see a boy in Virginia but I wasn't supposed to be there so mom, I have never been to Virginia. (She'll never read that because she doesn't know how to use the computer.)

All Passengers from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana & Virginia report to your appointed decks immediately to tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Up next week: Kentucky, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska & Connecticut

Welcome to Contest Friday!

All Passengers from California, Iowa, Missouri, O-H-I-O & Vermont report to your appointed decks! It's your day to chime in and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Cassie P was born in California almost 21 years ago and loves the sun. Jayme visited the San Diego Zoo and was impressed with how close the zoo was like the animals natural habitat. She also visited Disneyland. Go Mickie. And, La Jolla beaches with their cliffs and seals.

Cassie Y dated a boy from Iowa but he and his family didn't tan well. If we build it Heather and hubby Bal will perform marching magic there. At this time I don't have any photos but hopefully Heather will be able to work that out. Her AWESOME supervisor is from Iowa and the very AWESOME Katie O. is from Iowa. Shout out Katie O!

Tera SHOWED ME her picture taken from the top of the arch!

Heather didn't make it to the top of the arch. With the car running, her and her crazy friends just ran up and touched it. I hope your professor isn't reading this Ms. Heather, or you are in trouble!

Tera confirmed that Anheuser Busch does serve beer at the end of the tour and it's the freshest, best beer you'll ever drink. And she also gave us a great tip on where to eat ice cream/custard- Ted Drewes.

We had a lot of great comments about Ohio. Too many for me to repost them all here. Thanks Tera, Treye, Katie K and Heather. We did learn that Cincinnati likes to claim parts of Kentucky though. I think that should make Kentucky feel good. I wonder will Kentucky claim parts of Ohio? Tera mentioned Ceader Point and when I came home tonight and turned on the tv there was something on about Ceader Point! Hmm... Tera also sent me a picture of a sea turtle at the Newport Aquarium. I think his name is Tommy. And, she sent me a picture of Peacock from a zoo but I'm not sure which one. I think the Peacock's name is Perry and he's all fluffed up like that because he's trying to steal Tera from Treye. I think he's out of luck. Perry, not Treye.

And sadly, none of us have been to Vermont but we HAVE to go.

Not from any of the states that we've talked about to date? Stay Tuned! Next week is Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Montana and Virginia. And your state will be coming up soon! Has your state already passed and you didn't play? Don't give up! A make up day will reveal itself!

Attention all Passengers!!!

All passengers from Utah, Indiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and Arkansas please report to your appointed decks and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

We started our week out in one of my states, Utah where my friends Rich and Ginger said hello. And, our regular, Cassie P. told us about her grandfather live in Utah. Cassie, what city does he live in?

Then we visited Indiana where Heather's husband Bal is from. Heather, I think we are going to be great friends. I was a band geek (but in our small town everyone was a band geek). I played the french horn. Heather also filled us in on the "leaf watch" for spectacular fall foliage. And lastly, Santa Clause, Indiana home to Holiday World Theme Park. Sounds like fun. Cassie added, "GO COLTS!" and told us about Lincoln's boyhood home and the Strawberry Festival in Starlight. What exactly is Huber's again?



How was Jack Johnson, Cassie? Was John Mellencamp there?



We then cruised over to Mississippi where according to Heather, IT'S HOT! Pascagoula! I love the sound of that word.

And not one of our readers has been to Arkansas or North Dakota because if someone had been to either of those states surely they would have left a comment yesterday. ;)

I know what you're thinking... Darn, my state already passed! Don't worry. Stay tuned in for the make up day.

Let's wrap up the week. Today is comment day!

This week we visited:

On the Prairie Deck:
Illinois where we can eat world famous pizza and dogs. And if we're lucking enough we could even visit the world famous Struble Suds.



On the Rushmore Deck:
South Dakota where we can visit Mt. Rushmore and all it's marvel. And who knew Dairy Queen's went so far north. I used to work at Dairy Queen but not in the store. I was in the corporate office. No soft serve for me!



On the Lake Deck:
Minnesota where I didn't mention the Mall of America. Tera discovered Chipolte Burritos in Minnesota. Katie's been to Mall of America when she was 10 and loved the Lego center. I still love Lego's! And, in recent news Minnesota is where Obama sealed his candidacy.



On the Flight Deck:
North Carolina where Anonymous brought to light Duke University and they lived in Wilmington, a great beach town.



On the Saguaro Cactus Deck:
Arizona where same Anonymous went to Arizona State University where they have great memories. Thanks for sharing them! And, I went down memory lane with the Grand Canyon, Four Corners National Monument, and Petrified Forest which I have little to no memory of actually seeing. :)

What do you do now?

If you are a resident of any of the above mentioned states read on.

Do you see the word comment just below this text? It may have the number zero in front of it. If we're lucky, it will have the number 59 in front of it. Move your little mouse down there and click and enter your comment on the next page and tell us what makes your state the Taste of USA!

Week Two Contest Day!! (and purple cowboy boots!)

Wrapping up the week, let's start with Idaho.

Cassie let us know that her husbands family is from Idaho and still has a farm there where they go to escape the Texas summers. What's to escape? Texas Summers are the BEST!

My mom, aunts and uncles made it to their Idaho destination on Tuesday. The photo below is my mom and Aunt Kay in McCall, ID.



Treye did a report on Alaska in the 4th grade and thought the state sucked but has upgraded his thoughts since the age of 9 or 10 and now would like to visit the Alaska.

Heather and I are only visiting either Idaho or Alaska if we have appropriate living conditions... like a hotel or a nice cabin and preferably in the summer months.

We all have love for Claudia's home state of New York. Katie visited her grandparents in the Monsey area when she was a kid. Her mom does not like the Empire State Building do to a fear of heights and she has a tendency to get lost.

I was looking for my cousin Dianne to visit us from Kew Gardens and chime in on New York. Maybe she'll visit today.

And lastly, our regular highlowaha participant and Girl Scout, Maureen still lives in New York near Long Island South and is loving it.

I'm pretty sure Cassie is rounding up some purple cowgirl boots for Maureen.



Heather has helped us out with Michigan and Tennessee. She recommends the Charlevoix, East Jordan and Mackinac Island areas in Michigan. I love the way Mackinac Island sounds. And then, we need to rent a chalet in the Smokey Mountains for a vacation destination. Sounds relaxing.

Maureen, as a regular, you can push New York into the lead with this contest with just one posting of what you think makes New York the Taste of USA!

But wait- don't give up if your state's date has past... Make Up Days are going to be coming up.... Stay Tuned!

Let the Fun Begin!

Today's the Day! It's here! It's here! It's here! To get your points for Alabama, New Mexico, Texas, DC, Massachusetts or Hawaii post in the comment section the THING that makes your state the Taste of USA today!

Don't forget! Your challenge for extra points this week is to post the headlines from your local newspaper. If you send me photos, I will add them in today's post!

Welcome to the Cotton Deck

Hey, look everybody! It's Big Al and the boys!

Thanks to Allison for sharing that photo from Alabama!

We have recommendations to go to Gulf Shores, Florabama, and Florence. We have shout outs to the Grimes, to Corrie, to Patrick's family in Florence and Anonymous' Aunt Dee and the Williams family! And we even had a little friendly rivalry with the Roll Tide and a Tiger! :)

On the Turquoise Deck Claudia got engaged to the wrong person in New Mexico but it all worked out. Quynh suggests to go in late July- early August for hiking, biking, river rafting and more. Katie is shouting out to Jo Marie! And, here is a tribute to Claudia's love for the Partridge Family!

Hola on the Bluebonnet Deck!

I expect to see a lot of great comments here because I Love Texas and I know you Texans do too. It was pointed out that DFW has the most restaurants per capita. And that's great because I love food, too! My Houston friend, Kelly, pointed out in an email to me that I didn't make one mention of Mexican food and was I feeling okay? So, if you're in Bedford check out Miguelito's and if you're ever Refugio, go to Moya's Cafe. Yummy! Claudia likes Ozona's on Greenville.

We're expecting Snow in July! Welcome, Heather and family! And it sounds like Maureen had purple cowboy boots in her future! Y'all got practice your Howdys, Y'alls and Yee Haws.

My friend DeDe reminded me late last night that I also forgot about the bar in Corpus Christi called Vernon's where you throw your peanut shells on the floor. And, way back then, we waited for cute fly-boys to buy us beer. (Or not so cute. I don't remember being too picky.) Um, yeah, too much beer was consumed in that bar and that was just me! DeDe, I hope you chime in today with what you like best about Texas!

On the Smithsonian Deck

That's the sculpture Close2it was talking about. Patrick recommends the Holocaust Museum as a life changing experience. Quynh shouts out to Aisha and I was shouting to Lauren. Everyone is recommending DC as a great place to go. And at about 11:00pm last night, The Griffin Family graciously offered to be tour guide to anyone who want to go. How about that!

On the Tea Party Deck

Quynh likes the Massachusetts area and shouts out to Sammi. Is that all I got? Come on Bay Staters!

On the Pineapple Deck

Anonymous recommends the Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. Good call since I totally missed that! Quynh must not have any problem find places to stay because they are shouting out to Maile in Oahu now! Treye is thinking of David Gilbert.

Ooh, and will find out which other states claim their own dog? Stay Tuned!

Our next states up are: Alaska, Idaho, New York, Tennessee & Michigan.

And hey, I am taking Monday off for Memorial Day. You go ahead and take the day off, too. You just tell your boss I said so.

If you or any of your family members are in any branch of military, thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you do! We are the most fortunate people in the world and I appreciate you.

Until Tuesday!